Will Dan Henderson vs 'Shogun' Rua rematch live up to expectations?

Ariel Helwani talks with Dan Henderson about his upcoming UFC 139 fight against Maurício Shogun Rua and about coming back to the UFC.

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According to a March 20 report from MMA Fighting, Dan Henderson and "Shogun" Rua are set to collide this weekend in a rematch of what was one of the greatest fights in UFC history.

Henderson and Rua slugged it out for five epic rounds in 2011, with the Team Quest vet barely walking away with his hand raised.

Henderson smashed Rua for the first three rounds of that war, only to gas out and get dominated in the final two frames.

Its now over 800 days later, and Henderson will fight Rua in the main event of UFC Fight Night 38 in Brazil.

Henderson says the difference this time is that he won't punch himself out in the early rounds.

Not to punch myself out trying to finish him because he’s hard to finish. I’ll take my shots a little better. I’m excited to come down here and fight. I’m already used to hear the (Brazilian) fans say I’m going to die, so I want to come down here and prove them wrong (laughs). I’m capable of finishing him, but it doesn’t always happens when you want, so I’m ready to go five rounds. I’m excited about it.

Henderson is fully aware that he's coming off three losses and might even be in danger of getting cut from the UFC with a lousy performance.

"I don’t know if it affects my strategy at all," Henderson said. "Just make sure to control the fight a little bit better, making sure I don’t end up on the bottom."

"In my mind, I’m not coming off three losses, but it’s still three losses," he continued. "I don’t want a fourth on that, for sure. In the first, Rashad, I felt should have gone other way. It was a close fight, it’s not like I was beat up for three fights. It’s a little bit extra motivation, I guess, to make sure it doesn’t happen again, but it won’t change my strategy in the fight."

Analysis: Henderson vs Rua I was one of the greatest fights in UFC history, so there's no way their rematch can live up to their first clash.

Close to three years have passed since their first war, and Henderson is now 43 years old. He has taken over 30 more minutes of damage inside the cage since his first meeting with Rua.

As for "Shogun," he's also been in several more wars since their first clash. Rua isn't a spring chicken anymore at 32 years old.

It's unlikely that Henderson vs Rua Part Two will live up to their first fight.

Will the Henderson vs Rua rematch end in a quick knockout? Let us know in the comments or tweet the author, @BadNewsEric.

Call her Rouseydamus ... 'cause just 3 days before her fight, Ronda Rousey was telling TMZ Sports she was aiming to finish Cat Zingano in under 15 secs ... so she could fit the entire fight on Instagram.

UFC pain machine Ronda Rousey says she has EXTRA motivation to beat the living crap out of her opponent at UFC 184 this weekend ... she needs the prize money to pay for tickets to Mayweather vs. Pacquaio!!